Royalty documentaries
Elizabeth II: The Unseen Photos
Marking a century since the birth of the late Queen Elizabeth II, this documentary uses newly discovered photographs to chart the life and reign of Britain’s longest-serving monarch. Royal insiders, historians and photographers open the archives, from the world’s most iconic collections to rare private treasures, revealing the Queen’s century in front of the camera in a whole new light.
Tales from the Royal Bedchamber
Historian Lucy Worsley clambers into bed with a number of British monarchs to uncover the truth surrounding the infamous royal bedchamber. She reveals that our obsession with royal bedrooms, births and succession is nothing new and that, once upon a time, the royal bed was a public place. The rise and fall of the royals’ magnificent beds reflects the changing fortunes of the monarchy itself.
The Queen's Coronation: In Color
The coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 was the world’s first major television event. It also occurred during a new age of amateur home movies with communities in every corner of the UK filming parties and pageants. Alexander Armstrong discovers these unique films, and he meets the people who feature in them. He finds out that the Queen’s Coronation was also the People’s Coronation.
Plantagenets
The history of the Plantagenet dynasty is one of a powerful, yet feuding medieval family, of chivalric knights and wicked queens. Although ultimately driven by the wealth and glory of the crown, they also forged the foundations of the British Parliament and legal system, in between deposing each other of crowns and the warring that would eventually end their line in the famous War of the Roses.
Wellington: The Iron Duke Unmasked
The Duke of Wellington was one of the most famous Britons of the 19th century. His victory over Napoleon at Waterloo altered the course of history. General, politician, lover, outsider, this military hero was far more complex than his public image suggests. Actor Richard E Grant goes in search of the true Iron Duke in this thrilling history documentary.
